Greetings from the Belize Tourism Board

August in Belize brings the anticipation of Belize's annual September celebrations, a constant eye on tropical weather activity and for many hoteliers, a flurry of planning and organizing for repairs, renovations and preparations leading up to the start of the next tourism high season.

Aside from the ongoing marketing and product development activities, August at the BTB was busier than usual - partnering with BTIA for BETEX 2008 and, the introduction of new marketing service providers.

BETEX 2008 saw the arrival of over 100 agents and members of the press who met with local service providers and visited tourism attractions via a challenging new format that did away with the more traditional single venue trade show format. Feedback from both local and international participants has been positive and congratulations are in order for the Belize Tourism Industry Association, the event organizers and local stakeholders.

A bittersweet farewell to our friends at the marketing and public relations firm of Richartz Fliss Clark and Pope (RFCP) was accompanied by the anticipation of a new relationship with BVK of Milwaukee. RFCP was the marketing and PR agency of the Belize Tourism Board for ten years and responsible for the creation of the Belize logo and tagline "Belize Mother's Best Kept Secret". We thank Wendell Pope, Allan Fliss and the team at RFCP for their friendship, creativity, insight and efforts which significantly contributed to the growth and development of the Belize tourism industry since 1998.

We wish hoteliers, tour operators, tour guides and industry stakeholders all the best as you prepare and re-energize for the upcoming season. As always, we welcome your feedback via the BTB's online office at Belizetourism.org; email, telephone or in person at our offices at # 64 Regent St. in Belize City.

With friendship,
Tracy Panton
Director of Tourism